Riparian forest recovery following a decade of cattle exclusion in the Colombian Andes

Abstract

To meet their large-scale forest and landscape restoration targets, countries must find ways to accommodate areas for conservation alongside agricultural production. In some pasture-dominated regions of Latin America, intensive silvopastoral systems (SPS) are being promoted to increase cattle productivity on certain lands while facilitating the removal of cattle from marginal areas for forest restoration. However, the recovery of these forests and their contribution to the overall conservation value of the landscape has not been assessed rigorously. We evaluated forest structure and composition in 20 sites in a region of the Colombian Andes where a decade ago farmers transitioned to SPS and fenced off riparian areas to enable forest recovery. We compared these restored forests to a reference model based on the remaining riparian forest across the region, all of which has been subjected to human management. We found that woody species richness was higher in restored than in reference forests, and the proportion of large-seeded, later successional, animal-dispersed species were similar in both forest types. Whereas we found a similar suite of dominant tree species in restored and reference forest, Guadua angustifolia, a native giant bamboo was more abundant in the reference forests due to human management. Total tree basal area was higher in restored forests due to a small number of very large trees likely present in the pastures at the time of site protection. These findings highlight (1) the potential for recovery of diverse forests in riparian sites despite previous grazing use and (2) the role of remnant trees in facilitating natural succession. Overall, rapid forest recovery with minimal intervention in previously farmed lands is good news for conservation in a region that still harbors significant biodiversity despite high levels of fragmentation and the influence of human management.

A synthesis and future research directions for tropical mountain ecosystem restoration

“…Plantations, whether exotic or native, showed mostly medium success. Natural regeneration showed mixed results throughout, and its success was strongly dependent on the local site conditions, on proximity to forest for seed rain and on surrounding and remnant vegetation 34 , 158 , 159 .…”

A Synthesis and Future Research Directions for Tropical Mountain Ecosystem Restoration

“…Plantations, whether exotic or native, showed mostly medium success. Natural regeneration showed mixed results throughout, and its success was strongly dependent on the local site conditions, on proximity to forest for seed rain and on surrounding and remnant vegetation 34,174,175 .…”

Diversidad y estructura fisionómica en dos fragmentos de bosques riparios asociados a ecosistemas secos en el Caribe colombiano (Montes de María -Sucre)

“…Los bosques riparios o ribereños son uno de los ecosistemas con mayor dinamismo, diversidad y complejidad en el Neotrópico [1]. Estos bosques son importantes dado que prestan diversos servicios ecológicos como: la protección de los cuerpos de agua en épocas de sequía y temporada de lluvia, permiten la generación de grandes cantidades de nutrientes que ayudan en la formación de redes de conexión y hábitats para diferentes especies [2,3], funcionan como áreas de amortiguación que preservan las condiciones microclimáticas y químicas del agua, protegiéndola de agentes externos, y así evitar procesos de erosión de los márgenes de las corrientes y estabilizando los lechos de los ríos [4]. Asimismo, interfieren en la regulación del clima, la calidad del aire, el secuestro y almacenamiento de carbono para su transformación en biomasa [5].…”